The Branch House Uchiha
by GreatMarta
Summary: To be edited!
1. Default Chapter

NOTE: Hi guys and unguys. GreatMarta here. Just for you to know: this fic is supposed to be a prequel to my another work, ,Redemption" (still not finished). And, since it's a prequel, you don't have to read the "Redemption" to know what's going on.

In this fic I wanted to show relations between Naruto's company and their children, focusing the most on Sasuke and his two sons, the younger of whom is the title character. Also relations between members of the new generation.

Pairing:

Most important: NaruHina, SasuSaku

Less important: ShikaIno, LeeTen, NejiOC, ShinoHana (Kiba's sis)

Not important: ChojiOC, KibaOC

Time period: The action begins when the rookie 9 are 22/23.

Not to make it too boring, have a nice reading. I don't think anyone would like to read this anyway.

Oh, and one more thing: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

,The Branch House Uchiha" by GreatMarta

Prologue

He ran. Ran, as fast as he could. ,Dam it! Why in the hell had this to last so long?! Faster, faster!" he thought nervously. He paid no attention to anything he was running past. He just had one thing on his mind: to get to the hospital, to be by his wife, who could start birthing their first child any minute. Good, the hospital was on the horizon. He will be there in a few moments. He already was. Like a tornado, he rushed into the hospital. Then through a corridor. Suddenly, he noticed Hinata, who was supposed to be delivering the baby. She was talking to one of the nurses, and looked rather worried, but he didn't notice.

"Hinata!" he called her. She gasped. Like if she was afraid.

"Oh, Sasuke..." but he was next to her now, speaking nervously between breaths.

"And how (gasp) how is Sakura? Is she (gasp) birthing yet?"

"Well... actually, she gave the birth already, and is resting now" answered Hinata, still worried.

"Yet? Then how did it went? And is it a boy or a girl? Please, tell me""Well... it's a boy. Two boys, actually" announced Hinata. Sasuke's expression went into joyful. "Two? You mean I have twins?" he couldn't believe. This was too beautiful to be real. "Yes. And they look so much like you" so this was true. Twins. He got two sons at once. Happiness filled him completely. "YOOHOO!! Twins! I am a father of the twins!" he screamed in joy, jumping. He never felt happier. Well, maybe when Sakura told him she's pregnant. But then he didn't knew that she was pregnant with two children. Two boys. Two sons. Their sons. The future of the Uchiha clan. "Oh, Hinata, you don't know how much this means to me!" he stopped jumping and hugged Hinata, then hugged the nurse. He felt he's starting to cry in his joy. Hinata and the nurse smiled, but still were a bit worried. There was something terrible that Sasuke had to know. Hinata had no heart to break his happiness, but knew she had to tell him. "Sasuke, please calm down. I have to tell you something" "What is it, Hinata?" he asked, not stopping smiling. Hinata sighed. "Well... you see, the birthing... everything was just fine... till we found out, there's another child still inside. Then, the complications begun" she was peaking in a sad, peaceful tone. Sasuke begun to get a little worried. "Complications?"

"Yes. Your son got tangled in his umbilical cord. We don't know how. He must've been afraid, cause he started to kick hardly, trying to free himself. We were doing what we could to help him, but he was moving to much. He hurt Sakura from the inside" now Sasuke was really worried. What was Hinata up to tell him? How did this end? But she said that Sakura is resting. That means she's alive. And the child...?

"But... Sakura is alive, right?" he asked, very worried.

"Yes. She lost a lot of blood, she is weak and tired, but she is alive. It's just..."

"Just what?!" Hinata took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid, that she won't be able to have children anymore" Hinata passed the judgment. The terrible judgment. No more children? It can't be. They planned to have many. To reactivate the Uchiha clan. And now? This dream was ruined... by their own child?

"And... and the children?"

"They are both fine now"

"I want to see them" so Hinata leaded Sasuke to a room, where was Sakura. Lying motionless in a bed, connected to some medical gears. Poor Sakura. There also were two new Uchihas. Lying in peace in some baby-basket-things on the table. Sasuke looked at his identical sons. One had a red bangle around his arm, and the other one had a yellow bangle. One of them nearly killed his mother.

"Which one?" asked Sasuke in blank tone. Hinata didn't understand at first, but Sasuke made himself clear in next questions.

"Which one is to blame for that? Which one is responsible for Sakura's barrenness? Which one has been born second?!" now Hinata understood what was on Sasuke's mind. What does he want to do? Does he want to hurt the poor child?

"But Sasuke... it is not the baby's fault. You can't blame him. It was an accident..."

"Don't you understand?! Which one is that?!" he roared in madness. Hinata was afraid, but she kept on trying to calm Sasuke down.

"Sasuke, please don't hurt him! He is your son!"

"I know! I won't hurt him! I need both of them to carry on the Uchiha bloodline! Just tell me, which one has been born second!" he demanded. Still unsure, Hinata decided to show Sasuke, which of his sons was younger.

"This one. The one with yellow bangle" she said and pointed at the little boy with a yellow bangle around his arm. Sasuke stood upon his son. He felt hate towards him. He hated his own son. But he couldn't exhale. Those children are the only ones he'll ever have. He needed them. He needed them both. He needed that little killer.

"You... Do you know, what you did to your mother? What you did to me? You took my dreams away. I wanted to make my clan great again. But you took it all away. You little bastard. If you understand... I promise that one day, I'll make you pay for your guilt. Yes. You'll pay for your guilt, you... you... you devil child"

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GreatMarta: Heh. It's just a prologue. I didn't cut a dash, I simply took Sasuke's slashback from NGZ, but I simply wanted to check if you guys would be interested in that kind of story (inner GM: Are you nuts? Of course they won't be interested in this! I bet you won't even get one review!). We will see, IGM, we will see.


	2. Ideo and Kai

NOTE: Hi guys and unguys. GreatMarta here. Wow, 4 reviews? I never got so many. Hell thanks all of you!

LadyRed06- Yes, there should be a balance, but for this plot I needed two boys. Plus there will be girls too, as you will see in this chapter.

Kunoichi Smile- I'm glad to hear that.

KuMi-iZ-Miii- I'll do my best.

MaterialisticSheepies- You mean marking the text the characters speak, yeah? Sorry, I'm used to be marking it with ,-". Forgive me.

Note: In this chapter I use a character of my friend, the brilliant Jinky-Kurapica (look at my favorite authors). However, in her stories the character is a normal woman, not a Branch House Hyuuga like in mine. Her daughter is Jinky's as well. Just for formality.

BTW I highly recommend Jinky to you. She is my guru, her stories are fantastic, especially ,Ninjas of the Night" (IGM: Don't suck up to her). O h no I don't! I say what I really think! Emh… Have a nice reading.

,The Branch House Uchiha" by GreatMarta

Episode 1- Ideo and Kai

The air in the hospital room was heavy. Heavy, of the amount of sadness it contained. Sadness, that was coming from Sasuke. He was sitting by his wife's bed, thinking. Thinking, of how long will she have to stay here like this. Of how will she take the fact she can't bear children anymore. They had beautiful plans about the children. Sasuke wanted to have at least seven. Sakura said she is ready to bare five. They were arguing a bit about the number, but one thing was sure: they wanted to have a big family. To resurrect the clan. And now… Sighs. You are going to pay for your guilt, devil child. Sooner or later, you are going to pay.

Suddenly, a silent cry was heard. Sasuke turned to the table, on which his sons were lying. It seemed like something's wrong. He stood up and went to check. It was the younger one. The little boy looked at his father, whining. In his sight there was a plea for consolation. But he just received anger.

"Don't cry!" the man said through clenched teeth "It's all your fault!" he added coldly. The baby got afraid and begun to cry harder. Sasuke didn't like that. This child was driving him mad. First, that little killer destroyed his beautiful plans, and now he's… no, IT'S ignoring his orders and crying, as if it wasn't its fault. Such insolence.

"I told you not to cry!" he yelled at his son. Obviously, it didn't worked. In bargain, the older boy added his voice to the chorus. Sasuke gasped. No. Not that. Not his heir.

"No, no, no, don't cry, don't" he took the older boy in his arms and hugged him protectively.

"I'm sorry, my son. I didn't mean to scare you. No. You did nothing. It's him. He's done it. He ruined my dreams. He nearly killed your mother. He is a devil. And he deserves no mercy. But not you. Not my beloved, my dearest, my only son and heir. My future. My Ideo… yes, that's how I call you: Ideo. Yes, your mother liked that name. It sounds good: Uchiha Ideo Yunosuke. You like it, don't you?" –newly named Ideo didn't answer. He just kept on crying. Crying hardly. But not as hard as his still nameless brother, begging for someone to take him in his arms, to comfort him, to pay a little attention to him. Attention, he couldn't seek in his father

(…)

"Gush, no more children. That's really sad" said a female voice.

"There's always a bright side: they don't have to worry about the contraceptives now" laughed a man's voice.

"Sighs. You'd better don't tell this to Sasuke, Naruto. He won't like it" warned him another man's voice.

"I'm a little worried. I hope he won't do anything stupid" said a female voice, different than the first one.

Four, or shall I say/write: six people entered the maternity ward. They were lead by Hinata. On her right walked a blond man with whisker like signs on his cheeks. In his arms, he was carrying a two months old baby. It was very similar to him, especially because of the hair. It however had no whiskers and it's eyes were white. Plus, it was a girl, which you could admit after taking a more careful look at her.

Behind them walked a couple. They both had long, black, silky hair and white eyes. The woman was carrying a one month old baby. In this case it was clear, what its gender is: a girl. No doubts at this one.

(…)

"Shhhhh. Please… Please don't cry. Please stop. Shoot your trap of, you little devil! Oh, it's hopeless" Sasuke had no idea, what else can he do. The twins were crying harder and harder, and he couldn't make them stop. The man who defeated Orochimaru was hopeless against two newborn children. So embarrassing. And their cries were making him tired.

"Ohayo, Mr. daddy! Welcome to the club!" he heard. Naruto's voice. He turned to the entrance of the room and saw his guests. Good. Perhaps they will be able to do something.

"Congratulations of becoming a father, Sasuke" said Neji. That was the safest thing he could say. He knew every unwise word may cause a tragic effect. Sasuke luckily didn't seek any provocation. He seeked for help. He turned to Hinata.

"Hinata, I don't know what to do. My son is crying non stop. He must be very hungry, and Sakura-chan is not able to feed him. Neither am I. Please, help me" he asked with voice full of despair. Meanwhile Naruto noticed the younger boy and went to take a look at him. And he noticed, this boy needs help more than his brother.

"Guess you've never heard this one crying, have you? He's even hungrier than that one" he said. Sasuke gave him a strict look. Why is this dobe interested in the devil child? Yes, the demons like other demons. But the little one is hell much worse than Naruto. In Sasuke's opinion, the killer deserved no help. But not in Neji's wife's opinion. She gave her daughter to Neji, gently brushed Sasuke aside and went to the table. She took the poor little Uchiha in her arms and smiled at him.

"Shhh… It's okay, little one. Don't cry. I'll take care of you now, and I'm sure your mother will soon be fine. You don't have to worry" she calmed the baby down. Hearing a peaceful, friendly voice, Sasuke's son chilled out a little. He looked at the woman. She didn't look so scary as that bad man who yelled at him. He liked her. Her own daughter however begun to fell unsteady, seeing her mother taking care of another child. She was afraid. Neji petted the girl gently, trying to draw her attention away from her mother.

"Good thing we had children nearly the same time. Hiana and I are in condition to feed your sons" said Hinata, taking Ideo from Sasuke.

"Perfect. You feed the kids and Neji and I will take Sasuke and get him a cup of coffee" decided Naruto and went of the room. Sasuke and Neji followed him.

(…)

They sat on the soft sofas in the waiting-room. After drinking three cups of coffee from the vending machine (?), Sasuke felt better. Hot liquid was warming him from the inside, making him relax. The tiredness was leaving him. How good. But still, he couldn't stop thinking of his poor wife. She doesn't deserve this. Why this had to happen? Why to her? And why to him? What for had the God punished them with that little demon? Why?

"Why?" asked Sasuke, this time out loud.

"We've got girls, so you've got two boys. The balance must be kept" said Naruto cheerfully. Sasuke didn't even bother to comment.

"No, Naruto. I haven't got two boys. I've got one boy and one devil" he said. His friends didn't understand at first. Seeing confusion in their eyes, Sasuke continued.

"I mean, the first one is my son. The second one is a devil I don't want to have anything to do with" this explanation made the things clear. And scared the two friends. Is this what Sasuke really thinks? He's refusing to recognize the second born boy as his son. Isn't he?

"Sasuke, we understand, how do you feel. And if we don't, then we surely do imagine. Indeed, what happened, is a tragedy. But it happened. And you can't blame anyone. Especially your son" Neji spoke firmly. He hoped to decrease his friend's anger and make him see, the baby did nothing. But the results were far different from what they should be.

"You have no right to speak of IT as of my son. I just have one son: Ideo. And because of that bastard, the child I've got today is the only one I will ever have" responded Sasuke coldly. Neji didn't like that. He felt a great disgust. Who does Sasuke thinks he is, to treat that poor baby like this? How can be that heartless? He couldn't listen to those cruel words. He had to knock Sasuke of his perch.

"Don't speak as if you only had one son, you bastard! Born first, born second, what's the difference!? They are both your children, your genes, your blood! They were born in order of their location to the exit! You can't blame anyone for being born!" he yelled at the raven haired. He didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Don't tell me the frog has fur, you baka! If it's not that devil child to blame for Sakura's bareness, who is it then!?"

"No one! It was the destiny you can't defy! And it was Sakura's destiny not to be able to bear children anymore!"

"Stop putting that lute to me! I'm getting sick when I hear those idiotic destiny speeches!"

"And I'm getting sick when I hear somebody's being such a tyrant towards his own child!"

"You just protect him, because your father was the second born twin, or am I wrong, huh?!"

"GUYS! ENOUGH! Don't you see Kitoro-chan and Reika-chan are crying because of you!?" Naruto cut in, putting stop to the quarrel. Neji instantly forgot all about Sasuke. He noticed the painful cry of his daughter. How could he forget about her? Being in his arms, she must've been very scared of his shouts. Poor girl.

"Forgive me, Reika-chan. I scared you, didn't I? Shhh, it's okay. It's fine, don't cry" he whispered to his daughter, trying to calm her down. Meanwhile Naruto was doing the same with Kitoro. Sasuke just stayed silent, watching the whole process. The blood was still boiling in him. But suddenly, realization. He looked on Kitoro. Then on Reika. One was born into the Main House. Destined to be the head of the clan one day. Everybody will respect her and love her. The other one was born into the Branch House. She was destined to serve and protect the Main House. She will be changed into a bird in the cage at age of four, having her seal carved in her. Two girl. Two cousins. Two different fates. Main House. Branch House. Cruel rules of the Hyuuga. Letting Branch House members live just to protect the Main House members. Sad. But not pointless. Fathers of Hinata and Neji were twins. Hinata's father, Hiashi, being born first, was placed in the Main House. Neji's father, Hizashi, being born second, was placed in the Branch House. And he ended up dying to save his brother's life. This story gave Sasuke an idea. Yes. His newly resurrecting clan needed protection. He begun to understand. To realize the purpose of the second born of his sons. He will live to protect his brother. And to die, if necessary. Yes. That was a good idea. Yes.

"Sasuke, what is this smirk supposed to mean? What are you up to?" asked Neji, noticing the change in Sasuke's expression. The Uchiha just looked at him and giggled.

"Well, Neji. Thanks to you, I've realized the importance of the devil child's existence" he announced. Neji didn't like that at all. Have Sasuke changed his mind? Will he recognize the younger boy as his son? Or have he come up with some evil plan? He must be aware.

"Here they are. Full and fine" said Hinata appearing suddenly, carrying Ideo. After her walked Hiana, carrying the unnamed boy. Sasuke instantly took his older son from Hinata. He smiled at him. The baby answered with a giggle. He was so cute. Sasuke felt a deep connection with him. He also looked at the younger of the two. This time with no anger. With craft. Yes, you little bastard. You'll be allowed to live. And you'll play a vital role, being the protector of the clan in the future.

"We also came up with a strategy. We will take, each couple one of your sons, and take care of them, as long as Sakura has to stay here. That means for about a week, or two, if I'm correct" announced Hinata. Naruto had doubts.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to separate them? I mean, during the last nine months they've been stuck inside Sakura together. They are, you know, used to each other very much"

"Well, we can take them both in, as long as you don't mind three children crying at night and changing three times more tons of diapers" that convinced Naruto.

"You know, it's good idea to take just one in. Really good idea"

"Fine. Then I want you and Hinata to take Ideo, and Neji and Hiana to take…" Sasuke stopped for a moment. He didn't feel like giving a name to his second son. But he knew the baby needed a name. It couldn't be any too beautiful name. A name that would stick to a protector. To a Branch House Uchiha.

"…Youkai" he said finally. This name was weird. Youkai was a Japanese word for demon. And he wanted to call his own son like this?

"Youkai? Man, come on, give him a normal name" demanded Neji.

"Sakura may give him a normal name, if she would want to. But for now, I'll call him Youkai. And if you have problems with it, then it's not my problem" in next turn, Sasuke took his wallet and gave a few banknotes to Neji.

"For taking care of the bastard" not waiting for the answer, he turned to Naruto and Hinata, and gave the money to them as well.

"For taking care of my son. And now, excuse me. If you would need something, I'll be in Sakura's room. Goodbye, Ideo. Goodbye, Youkai. See you soon" with that, Sasuke turned his back on everybody and headed through the corridor, in the direction of Sakura's room. After he was out of the group's sight, Neji turned to Youkai. No. This name just won't be. He had to do something about it.

"Youkai… Kai. Just Kai. That's how we will call you, until your mother recovers and names you properly" it seemed like the boy liked his new name. He smiled and giggled at Neji. The Hyuuga prodigy smiled at Kai as well. The interest he paid to the boy however, made his daughter feel endangered. First her mother, now her father. This was getting extremely dangerous. The girl whined, wanting to get her parents' attention on herself. The plan worked.

"Angel, you are not going to be jealous about Kai, are you?" Hiana asked her daughter. Reika whined louder, showing that she is jealous already, and she has bad feeling about the Uchiha boy.

"Believe me. It's not the first time you are going to suffer because of a guy" said Neji mildly, petting Reika's head. Meanwhile Naruto and Hinata were introducing Kitoro and Ideo to each other.

"Look, Ideo. This is our daughter, Kitoro. I'm sure you will be good friends" said Hinata. Ideo looked at the girl with interest. It seemed like he likes her.

"Kitoro-chan, this is Ideo. What do you think about him?" Naruto asked his daughter. Kitoro first took a look at the boy. For a second she was scanning him. He smiled at her. He was happy she is interested in him. It's good to be in the center of attention. For a few seconds. Kitoro yawned and eventually fell asleep in her father's arms. Ideo didn't like that. He felt insulted. How could that girl ignore him like this? That's revolting. He showed her his tongue.

"Oh, don't get angry at Kitoro-chan. She is very nice, it's just she's tired" assured Naruto. Ideo did the first thing that he came up with. Following Kitoro's example, he fell asleep

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Note: And how? Good or bad? (IGM: bad). I'm not asking you, I'm asking them. You are free to say anything you want, suggest what/whom shall I focus on, and so on.

Kitoro is C to me, Reika and Hiana C to Jinky-Kurapica. Remember: Hiana is originally a normal woman, I changed her into a Hyuuga for the needs of my stories.


	3. Getting settled

NOTE: YES, I know it's been ages. YES, I know it is short. YES I am one big disappointment. Thank you all anyway for staying by anyway. An useless being who can only make stories up needs this to know she has a purpose to go on, especially when everything around her is telling her that life sucks.

,The Branch House Uchiha" by GreatMarta

Episode 2 – Getting settled

"WHOOOH!! WHOOAAH!!"

"Shhhh, please" Neji begged at the crying boy he took in. It was the time to sleep, but anytime he tried to put Kai down, he was starting to cry. Obviously, he didn't want to be alone. Neji sighed. Perhaps Naruto was right. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to separate the twins.

"Neji-kun, how's Kai-chan doing?" asked Hiana, entering the room.

"Not good. He's starting to cry every time I try to put him down" explained Neji. Little Kai was rubbing his head against his keeper's shirt. He liked Neji a lot. And he didn't want to be separated from him. The sight was cute, but the problem remained.

"Poor little one. You miss your brother, don't you?" Hiana petted Kai's head. The boy looked at her with very sad eyes. He did miss his brother. It was the first time in his life he didn't have him around and it was horrible.

"Hmh. We have to do something. And I think I know what" ascertained Neji.

"Really? What is it?" asked Hiana.

"We can't bring his brother here, but I think we can somehow trick him" with that Neji headed towards his daughter's cradle. Fortunately, Reika has been asleep for quite a long time and was unlikely to wake up so soon. Fortunately, she was a rather peaceful baby and usually didn't wake up at night. If she did, the plan wouldn't work.

"Reika-chan is not going to be happy about this, but it seems like it's the best we can do" Neji gently moved Reika aside, making place for Kai and put the boy in. Kai was starting to get nervous. He didn't want to be put down. He didn't want to be left alone. Fortunately, he noticed he's not alone in the cradle before he could start crying.

"I know it's not your brother, but I believe you shouldn't have any reasons to complain" the Branch House leader smiled. Kai didn't start crying so far. He was looking at the baby girl next to him. He had company. A living company. He could feel her warmth. It somehow calmed him down. He moved his tiny hand towards Reika's. Yes. She was there for him.

The boy let out a yawn and closed his eyes.

The plan worked.

"He fell for it" said Neji, proud of having found a solution that satisfied everybody. Well, at least Reika had no idea, that she was involved into the plan.

"I'd never think we'd allow her to sleep with guys so soon" Hiana giggled, watching the two babies sleeping peacefully next to each other. Her husband smirked.

"And she's just one month old… It's scary to think, what could happen, when she hits puberty" he added.

"Yeah. We might as well start looking for a good psychiatrist already" with that, Hiana leaned to kiss her daughter and Sasuke's son "Goodnight, Reika-chan. Goodnight, Kai-chan. Sleep well" she whispered to them. They didn't notice. They were already asleep.

Meanwhile, Naruto's house

"WHOOOH!! WHOOAAH!!"

"WHOOOH!! WHOOAAH!!"

"Oh, come on…" Naruto sighed helplessly, looking at baby Ideo in his arms. The boy kept on crying, and so did Kitoro, in the arms of her mother. Hinata did her best to remain steady and rocked her daughter, humming a silent song. Kitoro seemed to be enjoying the song, but when Ideo starter crying, she joined him eagerly.

"I don't get it" said Naruto "You've just fed them, so they can't be hungry. I just changed their diapers, so they can't be wet. And they're not sick either. So why are they crying?" he asked, overwhelmed by the fact he doesn't know, how to help the children. Hinata expressed more patience and understanding than her husband.

"I guess you were right. Ideo cries, because he missed Kai. And Kitoro cries, because Ideo cries" she explained.

"So if we make him stop crying, then she should stop crying too" the blond figured out "But how do we do that?"

In this moment, they were disturbed by the sound of the ringing phone.

"I'll get it!" offered Naruto, grateful for somebody decided to call him and draw his attention away from the baby problem for a while. He reached the phone and picked the receiver.

"Uzumaki Hinata's residence, how can I help you?" he started with a nice, slightly ironical tone.

"Uzumaki Hinata's of the Hyuuga, Naruto" the strict voice on the other end of the line corrected him "She's still our heiress, so title her properly. Don't forget it"

Naruto felt the remainings of his good mood melting.

"Oh… Oto-san… Umh, hi" he greeted his father-in-law, letting out a foolish giggle "How nice to hear from you"

"Is this my granddaughter crying in the background?" Hiashi asked, clearly dissatisfied with the disturbing noise.

"No, I mean yes, I mean, It's not her, well, not at all, we took in Sasuke's son, you see, umh…"

"You took Sasuke's son in?"

"Yes, I mean, one of them, Neji and Hiana have the other one. It's twins. They were just born today, and we're looking after them, while Sakura has to stay in the hospital" the blond explained, happy for he made it to find a topic to tell his father-in-law about. In the same time, he tried to rock Ideo, hoping he would calm down. It will not please Hiashi one bit, if he spots any problems they might have with taking care of a baby. He is so crazy about it.

"I see. I suppose Sakura won't be able to come to Kitoro's ceremony tomorrow?" The Hyuuga leader expressed his concern, and a red light appeared in Naruto's head.

"UMh… I don't think so… tomorrow's ceremony, you say?" he knew it. He knew he was in trouble.

"Yes. Her official entitling as the future leader of the Hyuuga clan. You haven't forgotten about it, have you?"

"Well, no, of course not…!"

"Because you do realize, how important it is for the clan, don't you? How much it means to our family?"

"Right, I get it, I know everything!" the blond claimed, praying that he sounds convincive enough. Dear Lord, he's gonna get killed for that. How in the world could he forget? Such an important event… holy ramen, have mercy upon me.

"I hope you do" Hiashi went on "I've told you so many times, that as a husband of the heiress of our clan and the father of her children, you are expected to act wisely and responsibly. Many believe that the honor of supporting Hinata and helping her carry the sacred burden of the Hyuuga inheritance is too much for you to endure. My wife and I have faith in you, but if you break our trust once, there would be no second chance. Do we understand each other, Naruto?"

"Yes, we do, perfectly. Listen, thank you very much for your call, but Hinata-chan needs my help, and she needs it now, see you tomorrow" with that, Naruto put the phone down and let out a sigh of relief. It's been a year since he got married, and he still couldn't help it but fear his father-in-law.

And, holy ramen, he had to do something. Instantly.

"Hinata!" he cried, running back to his wife "Emergency! Kito-chan's ceremony! I forgot all about it!"

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun" Hinata said to him "I had our official garments washed and made an appointment at Inoji's Beauty Salon for seven o'clock. We'll be fine"

"Are you sure?" he asked, still anxious.

"Yes, I'm sure. On our part, we just have to look smart and behave well. My father takes care of everything else, so there is no need to worry" she assured him. Naruto stared at her for a few more seconds, coming to realize she was right. Yes, Hiashi was responsible for everything, they just had to come there and be good. Right.

Deciding he can relax now, Naruto sat himself in an armchair.

"Boy, am I relieved! I could just feel your dad inflicting the worst Hyuuga curses on me!" he sighed, hugging the still crying infant Ideo tightly.

"Oh, Naruto-kun" Hinata came to her husband and sat on the arm of the armchair "You're taking this too hard. My father might be a strict leader, but that doesn't mean he's not a human. He wouldn't hurt you"

"This guy has the right to invalidate our marriage, Hinata-chan" her husband pointed out bitterly "And he made it very clear to me, that he will do it if I only shame the clan in any way. I am not sure if such a declaration could count as the declaration of not hurting me"

In this case, Naruto was right. Hiashi, being responsible for assuring a decent gene pool within the clan, had an absolute power upon his people. No Hyuuga could get married without his approval. Especially when their love was an outsider like Naruto.

As much as preserving the purity of the byakugan required a good deal of marriages to be taken within the clan, the marriages with the outsiders were allowed, as to prevent genetic diseases from occurring. Of course, not any outsider could have this honor. They were required to be excellent ninja of great values and even greater ancestry. Naruto, being a student of many famous shinobi, a hero of the war with the Akatsuki, and the son of the 4th Hokage on top of that, managed to satisfy Hiashi and the Hyuuga elders. Officially adopted into the clan and entitled to call himself "Uzumaki Naruto of the Hyuuga", the blond shinobi felt proud and happy, but knew he wasn't exactly the type of man Hiashi would see as his son. He knew he still had to keep on proving himself worthy. And he knew this would continue until he has accomplished his final goal and became the Hokage.

Hinata lowered to kiss Naruto's cheek. She knew how to make him feel better.

"He won't invalidate our marriage" she whispered softly to him "He is proud to have you as his son and he is in deep love with our little Kitoro. Everything will be fine. You will see"

Naruto smiled and pressed his head against her chest. Yes, she had that wonderful talent of freeing him from every dark thought. If she said everything's gonna be fine, then it had to be fine. There was no other option.

As the couple nudged each other, they suddenly noticed that there was no crying to be heard. They looked at the infants in their arms. Both have silenced themselves and, dear heavens, had closed eyes!

The blond ninja's smile became even wider. That was definitely a good sign.

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Note: I am going to be truthful. This was my final year at high school, and it was a shitty period. I had my A level exams and kept on failing the driver's license exam. I made it to the University, but am still scared of being a useless fool. I feel mentally weak. I absolutely cannot promise to keep updating. It is only your encouragement that gave me power to type down this chapter. Sorry to be bragging. I am too weak.


	4. Announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT

Let me apologize, to begin with. I know you're gonna curse me, but I need to inform you that:

A – I am going to rewrite this story. The plot presented so far won't change much, but there are some things I have to adjust.

B – I have planned a series of fanfics, and I suppose I should be writing them in chronological order rather than the other way round, which I have been doing till now.

C – Some characters are going to be renamed (the main cast, unfortunately). I'm still not sure about it, but I want to make the names more Japanese-like. You are free to express your opinion about this idea in an anonymous poll (see my front page).

The changes would include (I only mentioned the characters I have managed to introduce in this version of the story):

Kitoro – Kintoki (because I've realized the "ro" usually only stands in male names)

Ideo – Shintaro (sounds better)

Thank you for your attention.


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